Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Look, if you’ve held an Ultra phone in the past, you know they usually feel like carrying a slab of granite in your pocket. They’re powerful, but those sharp corners were notorious for stabbing you in the palm.

With the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung finally came to their senses. They rounded off those corners just enough to make it actually comfortable to hold without losing that "pro" look. It’s thinner, lighter, and feels much more like a tool and less like a brick.

Here’s the real talk on what it’s like to actually use this thing:

The Screen is Still King

Honestly, nobody does displays like Samsung. The S25 Ultra has this anti-reflective coating that feels like magic. You can be sitting at a coffee shop in direct sunlight, and you aren’t staring at your own reflection—you’re actually seeing your emails or your video. It’s one of those things you don’t realize you need until you try it, and then you can’t go back to a "normal" screen.

It’s Faster Than You’ll Ever Need

It runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which is basically a fancy way of saying it’s impossible to lag. Whether you’re editing 4K video on the fly or playing heavy games, it just stays smooth. Plus, they finally bumped the RAM up to 16GB on some models, so you can jump between twenty different apps and none of them have to restart.

The Cameras: Less Gimmick, More Polish

We all know about the 100x zoom—it’s cool for seeing things a mile away, but how often do you actually do that? The real win this year is the 50MP Ultra-Wide lens.

Finally, your wide-angle shots don't look blurry or soft compared to the main camera.

Shutter lag (that annoying delay when you press the button) is almost gone. It’s much better at catching a pet or a kid moving around without ending up with a blurry mess.

The AI Stuff

Samsung is pushing "Galaxy AI" hard. Some of it is fluff, but Circle to Search is legit. If you see a pair of shoes in a YouTube video, you just circle them, and it finds the link to buy them. It’s scary accurate.

Should You Buy It Today?

The S25 Ultra has been out for a year. It’s a fantastic phone—maybe the most "complete" phone Samsung has ever made—but the S26 Ultra is likely only a few weeks away from being announced.

Buy the S25 Ultra if: You want a deal. Since the new one is coming, you can find this for way less than its $1,299 launch price. It’s still going to be a beast for the next 5 or 6 years.

Wait for the S26 if: You care about having the latest and greatest, or if you're hoping Samsung finally upgrades their charging speed (the S25 is still stuck at 45W).